Despite the challenges, we were seeing free and democratic Iraq, we were
living the hard laboring moment we believe that every one of us has
duty towards our beloved country. By our hands, work, thoughts, sacrifice
we will build up the new Iraq.

For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complex than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.

When the wind blows, a cloud of coal ash rises over the nearby homes of Paiute Indians and blankets them with a fallout of arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic elements. Like millions of people across the nation, they are experiencing America's dirtiest energy source. Read Full Story.Interactive Video Feature

Coal-fired power plants generate millions of tons of toxic coal ash every year.Coal ash contains unsafe levels of mercury, arsenic, lead, chromium, and other toxic metals known to cause cancer and damage organs.
Coal ash sites in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana and other states have poisoned drinking waters, elevated cancer risks and polluted rivers and streams.

From Earth Justice's interactive map:
In 2009, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Earthjustice and our partners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed the location of 584 coal ash dump sites across the country—almost twice as many as previously identified.

These sites pose significant cancer and health risks that so far have gone unchecked. I clicked on WI and found the following info:

THESE ARE SOME OF THE FACTS I LEARNED ABOUT COAL ASH IN WI. from the
downloaded fact sheet:

Wisconsin ranks 28th in the nation for coal ash generation.

The U.S. EPA has not yet gathered extensive information on coal ash disposal in landfills, so a
detailed breakdown is not available. However, according to a 2010 EPA risk assessment, four
coal ash ponds and landfills in Wisconsin are currently unlined and three are only clay-lined.

Of these sites four have no leachate collection systems.

Aging Fleet of Ponds: None of Wisconsin’s coal ash ponds are less than 24 years old, and 15
ponds are over 30 years old. One pond at the Nelson Dewey Generating Station is over 50 years
old. The age of these ponds makes it unlikely that they have safeguards like liners and leachate
collection.

Cases of coal ash contamination in Wisconsin (Damage cases):
According to EPA , WI has the distinction of having the most documented sites contaminated by coal ash in the U.S.

Columbia Energy Center, WI Power and Light Co, Pardeeville:
Ecological studies in the late 1970s identified devastating impacts on aquatic life in a stream receiving discharge from ash ponds wiping out nearly all aquatic insects for 2.2 miles downstream;

and Oak Creek Power Plant, WE Energies, Oak Creek:
Twelve private drinking wells near the Oak Creek and Caledonia coal ash landfills have been contaminated with molybdenum. WE Energies started providing bottled water to residents in 2009.

Wisconsin State Regulatory Program and Recycling of Coal Ash:
WI’s program requires groundwater monitoring at many of its disposal sites. WI also requires all landfills be constructed with composite liners. Because of the greater relative stringency of disposal regulations, in comparison to other states, WI utilities have greater incentive to recycle their coal ash.
In fact, higher disposal costs in WI have led to a state recycling rate of at least 85%, more than double the average ash recycling rate in all other states (36%).

River Runs Black: The Devastating Coal Ash Spill on the Emory River

July 21, 2011

Bridget Daugherty was leaving her home along the Emory River in Tennessee just before Christmas in 2008 when she noticed the roof to her neighbor's dock had crashed to the ground. Her surprise turned to horror as she saw what brought it down—an oozing gray muck 20 feet deep in places.

Massive piles of the toxic sludge had replaced the once-clear and scenic water of the tranquil cover, destroyed Daugherty's beautiful landscape and inundated everything around her home.

"I went on to work and called my husband. He came home and called me and said, 'You're not going to believe this. It's astronomical'."

Like the Daughertys, residents all along the river were waking up to the tragedy of 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash that spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill covered 300 acres, destroyed homes, poisoned rivers and contaminated coves and residential drinking waters.

1 Comments:

Hi - Due to an error we had to re-upload the Moapa Paiute video that you commented on. We would truly appreciate you watching, commenting on, and sharing the full length version of the video, which can be found at the following link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr8FQ_hu5uY

We are trying to get this story told and know as widely as possible and we would appreciate your help!